That will mean removing "the things that make it complex," Snow said, citing tax preferences, credits, deductions, and business tax depreciation schedules.
Business lobbyists have been pushing to scrap depreciation schedules, which allow investments to be written off over time. Instead, they want investments to be fully deductible immediately, an idea known as expensing.
Snow said he "fully expects the panel to look at the pros and cons of expensing," adding that it would be consistent with simplification goals. But he cautioned he did not want a tax plan to leave businesses with "negative income taxes."
The secretary did indicate he would push the panel to move quickly. Members may hold hearings and gather facts if they wish, but Snow expects to send his own tax recommendations to the White House well before the end of next year.
"We want to get it [done] as soon as we can," he said. "We want to move this initiative."
The Bush administration yesterday also released new economic forecasts for the coming year, boosting its economic growth estimates from a year ago but trimming its estimate for new jobs.
White House economists expect payrolls to average 131.3 million jobs this year, down from the 132.7-million-job average predicted a year ago. In 2005, payrolls should average 133.4 million jobs, a 2.1-million-job increase from this year.
Overall economic growth should be a healthy 3.5 percent next year and 3.4 percent in 2006. Those estimates are up from last year's forecast, which put growth rates at 3.4 percent in 2005 and 3.3 percent in 2006.
"The economy is in very solid shape," said N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.
